business network. tomorrow night, the crash course on the radicals surrounding the president. from new york, defending from new york, defending freedom, good night, america. captioned by closed captioning services, inc >> shannon: the president calls for more infrastructure spending in an effort to kick-start the economy. but, will it work? the premier battleground state readies itself for the november election. and the united states says iran's nuclear stock piles could be larger than previously thought. live from the studio in washington, this is "special report." good evening. i'm shannon bream in tonight for bret baier. president obama marked the labor day holiday by speaking to a core group of american workers about a white house initiative aimed to spark job growth. critics say the plan is just another stimulus. white house correspondent wendell goler takes a fair and balanced look. >> reporter: in milwaukee, wisconsin, president obama launched a week of events focussed on the economy,

unveiling a six-year plan to revamp the nation transportation system. >> we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads, enough to circle the world six times. that is a lot of roads. we'll lay and maintain 4,000 miles of the railways. enough to stretch coast-to-coast. we're going to restore 150 miles of runways. >> reporter: the goal is not just infrastructure rebuilding, it's creating jobs the recovery lacks. though the president said it would create jobs immediately, aides can concede they won't be created before next year and maybe late in the year. labor secretary hilda solis says it will help those particularly hard hit by recession. >> welders, engineers and folks that have been unemployed for a long time. >> republicans called it another stimulus program. >> they are just flailing around. >> senator john mccain says extending the bush administration tax cuts is a better idea.

>> let's get small tax breaks to small businesses and large and then maybe the american people will have some confidence. >> the president wants to extend the bush administration credit for the middle class. this labor day finds a face on organized labor. >> not worker on the assembly line representing the union movement. you have three times union members in the post office as the domestic auto industry. >> there are half a million f fewer union members in the private industry than the public sector jobs like teaching and law enforcement. he says that explains the obama administration to use stimulus money to save jobs of public workers and believes they have a different take on taxes. >> they want better working conditions. where does that come from? from government spending and taxes that have to be levied on the private sector workers to pay for this. >> the president says his goal is rebuilding the middle

class after years of union decline. he says a good job, good wages, secure retirement, healthcare benefits are union ideas but the unions lost much of their clout over the last two generations. their share of the workforce used to be three times as large. shannon? >> shannon: wendell goler at the white house. the president's next move to help the ailing economy involves the issues of tax cuts but exactly which taxes to cut and how to pay for the cut is a major bone of contention. chief washington correspondent jim angle explains. >> president obama's desperately searching for anything that would help the economy and reduce the possibility of deep democratic losses in november. which is why senator cane characterizes the latest ideas this way. >> we like to see the deathbed conversion. if we had done this thing a couple of years ago we would be in better shape.

>> he has a permanent extension of tax credit for research and development, first put in place in 1981 under president reagan. it has republicans for it but a former clinton economic advisor warns it won't help in the short-term. >> i don't think it's something with an immediate job impact as movement on the tax credit for unemployed or the payroll tax holiday. >> one catch, the president is looking for ways to pay for the r&d tax credit, $100 billion in ten years. >> it will be interesting to see how they balance. >> a bigger battle looms over what to do about the bush tax cut that expire at the end of the year. >> the first thing we need to do is extend the tax cut in

existence so people have the certainty. >> they say it should be extented for now is not the time to raise taxes on anyone. >> it's too fragile. we can't take the chance. >> they agree and say extending it for the wealthy temporarily, including the chairman of the senate budget committee. they are opening the door for the temporary extension for wealthy. >> that's part of the discussion and mix in the very short-term. >> now van holland says a permanent extension of cuts for the wealthy would blow a hole in the deficit with a cost of $700 billion over ten years but the middle class cuts are way more expensive. some $2.3 trillion. the president plans to add that to on the deficit, too. >> big numbers. >> yep. >> shannon: thank you. in the battleground state of ohio unemployment is one of

highest in the country, and big labor continues to spend big bucks in an effort to te protect vulnerable. carl cameron explains why it's no holiday for the labor union. >> ohio's labor day picnic is one of the biggest in the country and workers are angry at both parties in washington. >> they're acting like 5-year-olds and they want everything their way instead of going with compromise. they act like 5-year-olds. do it my way or i'll take my toys and go home. that's what i found in washington. >> tens of thousands of union workers turn out every year but ohio has the ninth worst jobless rate at 10.3%. more than 600,000 people are unable to find work. >> it has to be part of the working families. how can it not be? if there is no work and you are living on maybe 15 to 80% of what you were making. >> the 2010 economy is no picnic for labor.

>> steelworkers are very mad and upset. >> labor blames former president clinton for backing free trade and former president george w. bush for what democrats call the failed g.o.p. policies of the past. polls show voters are upset with the obama policies of the president. 57% say the obama administration's stimulus spending has not worked. the neverering jobs have taken a huge hit and nationwide. the overall union growth slowed in the recent years, the political spending and activity continues to grow. to protect the vulnerable candidates this year, the american federation of state county and municipal employees plan to spend $50 million to defend 35 vulnerable house and seven vulnerable senate democratic seats. the afl-cio distributed 300,000 pro-democratic fliers at work states in 23 states. t

they say they plan to spend $40 million on this year's campaign. labor unions and democrats want voters to be more patient. arguing that the obama administration economic policy need more time to take effect and turn the economy around. their problem is there is no way that is going to happen. in the eight weeks before election day. and a growing number of polls suggest most voters think the obama administration and democratic policies are part of the problem. and they're looking to republicans. shannon? >> carl cameron in ohio. thank you, carl. in the kentucky senate race tea party backed republican rand paul is widening his lead over his democratic opponent. according to the latest survey "usa today" poll 55% of those polled favored paul, while 40% say they support the democrats jack conway. one of sarah palin's nosey neighbors says so long wasila later in the grapevine. new report says iran is producing nuclear material at a faster rate than previously thought. ♪

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>> shannon: an american soldier was killed sunday in afghanistan, the fifth to die so far this month. this is as nato officials are considering whether to deploy another 2,000 soldiers to the country, which would add to the 140,000 international troops already there. suspected u.s. missile strike in pakistan killed three alleged militants in the northwestern tribal areas. hours earlier a taliban suicide bomber in the same region blew up a car in an alley behind a police station killing 17 people and wounding more than 40. the taliban has claimed responsibility. just months after the united nations authorized its strictest set of sanctions to date on the iranian regime, a new report shows the country moving full speed ahead with the nuclear program. correspondent james rosen reports it's the ease at which iran is achieving the goal that is most disturbing.

>> it finds iran has three tons of the enriched uranium, three times more than known to exist in may and much more to make the three nuclear weapons. >> we're striking at the heart of the iranian government ability to fund and develop the nuclear program. >> despite sanctions, president obama signed in law this summer, the iaea report shows the uranium nuclear workers moved unchecked, breaking seals on the enrichment machinery, to enrich at higher levels than acknowledged and withholding data on a broad range of subjects. they say the agency, "remains concern over possible existence in iran of past or current unrelated nuclear activities including activities related to the nuclear payload for a missile." there are indications, he added, certain of the activities may have continued beyond 2004. that last line took direct aim at the controversial

n.i.e. that the u.s. intelligence community produced in 2007, claiming the work on the nuclear war head that ceased in 2004. >> it's on that the iranians are going to build nuclear weapon. they have time and they have the resources. they know americans are very impatient. so, they're in no hurry to weaponize the uranium they have. if anyone thinks they are not along the path to doing that, they are just flat wrong. >> iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad walks with customary swagger. in the last week he warned attack on the nuclear apparatus would mean annihilation of israel and urnled palestinians who held the first direct peace treaty for two years to keep up the resistance against jerusalem. >> these negotiations are born dead and there is no basis for them. when they do in the address the key issue like the right of the palestinian nation and the realities of the region, it's clear that the talks will fail. >> white house spokesman tommy vetor told fox news the

report is "troubling" and said the obama administration is applying unprecedented and growing international pressure to deepen iran's isolation and the price it's clearly paying for the nuclear program. shannon? >> shannon: james, thank you very much. new video taken by israeli drone shows what is thought to be hezbollah militants scrambling to save a stockpile of weapons after an explosion. correspondent leland vitter reports if the suspensions can be confirmed it would be outrageous violation of international law. >> you can see the black smoke billows from the house that israel says hezbollah used as a weapons storage depot in southern lebanon. it happened in an area off-limits for the hezbollah fighters and any weapons cache would be flagrant violation of the resolution. it's important to note what you don't see in the video. just after the explosion the black smoke clears and there is a lot of people running around. none trying to put out the fire. instead they're carrying large crates out of the

building. israeli military says those are missiles. israel says hezbollah has been working since the and of the war. this is the third in a residential neighborhood they use homes to store arsenal. israel says they're upgraded those of the ones used in the six war with israel. >> translator: today, relationship between syria, iran and hezbollah is better than ever. this coalition is victorious. >> reporter: israeli army spokeswoman call this "example how they continue to disregard the council resolution 1701, an eni believing the hezbollah terrorist organization to continue and build up its arms. it's unclear how many weapons hezbollah lost in the explosion. but the israeli military says its drone tried to truck carrying recovered missiles to a local mosque for

storage. >> it's impossible to say what happened. they prevented any press or army or u.n. inspectors reaching facilities before it was cleared out. in jerusalem, leland vitters, fox news. >> shannon: the non-combat forces which remain in iraq are keeping a close eye on the stability of the country. local economy there is a major part of that equation. how far should u.s. efforts go in iraq when our economy at home is facing trouble of its own? reporter malini wilkes has the story. >> with the temperatures in the triple digits, akhmed stayed busy installing the car air conditioners in western baghdad and he recently expanded the business and added staff, after getting a 6,000 loan thanks to the u.s. international agency for international development. >> before there were only two workers. now i have six workers. i brought more spare marks.

>> u.s. estimates unemployment rate in iraq is 18%. unofficial estimates it's as high as 30% sanctions under iran and seven years of war have taken a toll. why spend money creating jobs in iraq when we have such high unemployment back home? the worry is a lack of jobs translates to lack of security. >> this is a critical time in iraq. stability in iraq is part of the u.s. government strategic interest in iraq. >> u.s. is pushing programs with familiar sounding goals, encouraging lending to small businesses to stimulate job creation. u.s. a.i.d. says the loan program to private bank and non-profit created 65,000 jobs. with a default rate under 5%. investment of $80 million taxpayer dollars since 2003 leveraged half a billion in loans. they pay back the loan and money is in the fund and the institution can relend to other institution.

>> iraq used to have a state run economy. u.s. officials say part of the goal now is to encourage entrepreneurship and unleash power of the private sector. even few hundred dollars can make a difference to someone trying to start or grow a business. >> small project needs someone to help continue the project or build more and more. >> interest rates are 12-15% but u.s. officials say this is the market rate needed to sustain lending after americans pull out and that's a bargain in iraq for those without collateral. he put up his house and sold his mother's jewelry to secure his business and has no regrets. >> in the old regime, no such lows. if i lose this, i don't know what i'd do. >> malini wilkes, fox news. >> shannon: coming up we show you a way that the c.i.a. is recovering from the darkest day. how a former reality tv star

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>> shannon: in election headquarter, the father of florida candidate marco rubio died after battling lung cancer. rubio was at his father's bedside saturday cancelling a previously scheduled debate with kendrick meek. mario rubio was 83 years old. nevada republican senate candidate sharrop angle is being sued for allegedly reprinting two articles on the website without permission. a company that owns the copyright is seeking unspecified daniels in federal court.

republican became the center of attention when a man he was hoping to unseat decided to call it a day. as steve brown explains this candidate is no stranger to the spotlight. >> hey, come up and say hello. >> welcome to the unlikely if you will surreal world of 38-year-old congressional candidate sean duffy. duffy was supposed to be the 2010 republican sacrificial lamb running against one of the hus's longest serve -- house's serving longest member. >> why you? you can't make a difference. >> i'm a father of six. i do lumberjack sports. i'm a d.a. can i make a difference? i thought i could. >> in may a surprise, dave olby announced his retirement. >> frankly, i hate to do it because there is so much that needs to be done. but more frankly, i am bone tired. >> suddenly, duffy was national news. but unphased. >> it doesn't mean a thing to me. time magazine doesn't vote

for me. the "new york times" doesn't. "wall street journal" doesn't. people here in wisconsin do. that's why i'm out every day. >> duffy, running for congress. >> in another light 13 years ago duffny was on mtv "the real world" and met his wife rachel taping a spinoff. political watchers say he is a serious contender. >> in a year like this, which is so bad for democrats, he has legitimate shot at winning. in fact, i think he is probably going to win. >> but not without a fight. >> washington needs to hear, wisconsin common sense. >> duffy's opponent is democrat state center julie lassa. >> i am connecting with voters, hearing the concerns that they have, as well as the hope and dreams they have for themselves. >> while the democratic congressional campaign committee launched its very first attack ad aimed at duffy. >> when we should be fighting to protect social security, sean duffy had a plan to privatize it. >> he dismissed the ad as a

distortion and says right now he is focussed on his campaign and the rest of the race. >> we have 3-1/2 months left. we see light at the end of the tunnel. >> his post election plans include taking his large family to disney world. if things keep going his way, his next stop may be washington. in st. croix, falls, steve brown, fox news. >> shannon: embattled congressman democratic rangel spent $112,000 on legal bills since july, according to a campaign finance report. he vowed to fight the 13 violations the house ethics panel filed against him and he is expected to face a house trial in the fall. the former treasurer of the national congressional committee pleaded guilty to embezzling $850,000. christopher ward has been under investigation for two years. lawyers agreed to recommend a sentence of three years but the judge could impose a term up to ten. civil rights activist jesse jackson is going green.

whether he likes it or not. and we'll tell you why the family of the late senator robert byrd is so angry, coming up on the grapevine. ♪ [ male announcer ] it's a symbol confidence... ♪ ...honor... ♪ ...and trust. an unspoken bond that, while common among men... ♪ ...is exceedingly rare among companies. the ram 60-day handshake. ram.

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appraiser: it's just beautiful, thank you so much for bringing it in. woman: unbelievable anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. did you know - after age forty, your body can lose up to eight percent of muscle per decade? try... each serving provides twenty-six vitamins d minerals. plus it has fifteen grams of protei to help mainin muscle. compare it to the leading competitor. boost high protein also has calcilock blend, with calcium and vitamin d to help maintain strong bones. get complete, balaed nutrition so you can stay active. try boost high protein. also available in powder. this has been medifacts for boost. >> shannon: and now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine. west virginia republican senate candidate john racy is being criticized for tv ads that includes an image of democratic opponent governor

joe manchin with president obama. taken at the late senator robert byrd's memorial service. racy and manchin are in a special election to fill the remainder of byrd's term. racy's campaign defended using the picture saying they didn't realize the stock photo was from the memorial service. but byrd's family called for campaign to withdrawal the ad. after a three-month stay, palin's not so welcome neighbor in wasilla is packing up and heading for his home in massachusetts. when they realized earlier the year the new guy next year was doing research on book about the former governor they added on existing eight-foot tall fence between property. mcginnis said he stayed busy all summer and minded his own business. the oval office got a makeover but the item getting the most attention is the carpet that features famous quotes from past presidents and one from martin luther king jr. the quote attributed to king reads the arc of the moral universe is long and bends toward justice. however, the "washington

post" points out that phrase isn't original to king, that he paraphrased it from a unitarian minister named theodore parker who said it in 1863. white house spokesman wouldn't comment on the article and said, "the quote on the rug is what dr. martin luther king jr. said. the quote in the story is different." finally, civil rights activist jesse jackson led a rally for green jobs in detroit last week but his travel took a more environmentally friendly turn after the rented cadillac escalade suv was stolen from outside his hotel. he defended choosing the gas guzzler for the green event saying his wife drives a smart car. most devastating blow the c.i.a. suffered in the 63-year history, attack last december perp waited by a jordanian suicide bomber in afghanistan. tonight, national correspondent catherine herridge looks at an inspirational effort to ensure families of those who died don't have to shoulder the burden alone. >> biking across the country

was always on rob's bucket list. with a suicide bombing in afghanistan last december, the former c.i.a. officer and his wife kim finally have a reason to ride. >> this could have been me left behind. and my children left behind. >> to me this is saying something to them. saying the family member was special. >> yeah. >> they loved you and doing something for the country. >> seven new stars for coast are chiselled in the memorial wall at c.i.a. headquarters. now there are 102 stars. each one for agency employee who died in the line of duty. 22 since al-qaeda attacked the win towers, the pentagon and shanksville, pennsylvania. >> our teams were on the ground in afghanistan. 15 or 16 days after 9/11. we were the first in. the first american to die in afghanistan was a c.i.a. officer, johnny michael spam. >> he is chairman of the c.i.a. officer memorial foundation. >> when mike span was killed in afghanistan, it really rang a bell for us. sooner or later we are going

to feel an obligation to provide support to the families killed in the line of doubty. mike had a wife and two children. one of whom just started college with our support. >> the richard photo album tells a story of a c.i.a. family and the wife and kids lived in the middle east, he was constantly on the road and his kids didn't know why. >> there is a lot of single parenting that goes on. and in a lot of sort of covering as to where is daddy? because many times i didn't know. and i didn't know when he would be back. >> daily rides 70, 75 miles a day. we have a family when we start. jacksonville, florida, on september 11. one family with us when we finish in san diego on october 27, at 1:00. >> we were the bands, sent to us by the gentleman at the base where they were killed and they say coast, day of

the death and serve starts. >> once people heard about the ride, it was spontaneous, getting a lot of e-mails. >> yes. >> hi, rob and kim. my brother was one of the seven agents kill and we know he will not be forgotten thanks to efforts like you. >> they are amazing money on the website pedallingforpatriots.com. >> we put it on the wall. >> this isn't about kim and i riding a bicycle. this is what we did and we carry it with us. >> in virginia, catherine herridge, fox news. >> investigators are finally able to look at key piece of evidence to stop oil gushing in the gulf of mexico. after the deepwater horizon rig exploded in april. took more than 29 hours to lift the 300-ton blow-out preventer out of the water. it will be sent to a nasa facility in louisiana for more analysis.

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[ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down? introducing bayer am, an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever. over the next six years we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads. that is enough to circle the world six times. that's a lot of rope. we are going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of the railways. enough to stretch coast-to-coast. >> shannon: that was the president today talking about a new $50 billion plus plan aimed at getting better infrastructure going in the

country. and making jobs as well. you had to know the republicans would respond right away. this is from mcconnell saying the new tax hike and stimulus bill will not reverse the lack of confidence americans have in washington democrats' ability to help economy. bring in the panel to talk about it. stephen hayes, senior writer for "weekly standard." juan williams, for national public radio. and syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. gentlemen, welcome to all of you. the white house shied away from calling anything a stimulus, and that's what mitch mcconnell did immediately calling at it stimulus. what is it? >> it's a stimulus know the word can't be used anytime. a mini stimulus. classic example of the administration acting for the appearance of activity. i doesn't have a clue what to do. it spent half a trillion on first stimulus. we saw 60% of americans think it did absolutely nothing. and they have no idea. the economy is still in a

ditch. so they come up with a mini version of this. which will be throwing $50 billion and it will not leave a trace unlike the interstate highway system or the t.v.a. or the hoover dam which were real infrastructure ideas. this will not leave, absolutely nothing will be left behind. it will be a temporary fix. i like the way the president announces, we heard it will be a six-year plan. even lennon that the mostey to -- modesty to stop at five. >> shannon: pushed it another year. charles calls it a mini stem. others say pandering to union before the election. he was speaking to an organized labor crowd. are those fair accusations? >> yeah. look, he is speaking to a labor crowd. they're looking for labor jobs. blue collar jobs. so what we are talking about is the construction work and the like. things that put people in jobs to pay a good salary for someone who doesn't have a

high level of education to take advantage of the innovation. the blue collar average worker is suffering so here is president obama speaking directly to that concern. unlike charles when you think back over the great public works projects in our history that this one is overdue. i think if you look at the infrastructure in the united states, everything from railway to highways, we are breaking down. if we can give people skills and allow them to compete with, for jobs that are now going overseas that is a good thing. i'm somewhat befuddled, though. most americans think the big stimulus package was for naught. if you listen to the economists, what the economists tell you is that they created jobs. it saved us to the point where unemployment rate would be closer to 16% instead of 9%. it doesn't amount to credit for the obama administration. i imagine that the republicans will greet this news as stimulus two, as charles said.

we don't want any part of it and obstruct it and block it and get away with it. >> shannon: of course, the question of the price tag. here is what the president had to say about that today. >> this is a plan that will be fully paid for. it will not add to the deficit over time. we are going to work with congress to see to that. >> shannon: all right, steve. does congress have the appetite to work on this project? >> i don't know. probably not. certainly republicans will not be enthusiastic about it. what perplexes me about this move is that the white house, if it's been good at anything it's good at politics. we saw it at the campaign and we have seen it since president obama became president. this doesn't make sense. the single biggest issue or one of the biggest issues under the broad category of the economy in wisconsin right now is a very controversial high-speed rail project going from madison, milwaukee, perhaps to chicago. the popularity of that has gone in the fall of 2009 from 57% to 41% at the beginning

of june. i talked to a couple of people today saying the private polling is even more against this project. this big project. to go to wisconsin, to announce massive new levels of infrastructure spending in the middle of a debate where infrastructure spending is at the heart of it and deeply unpopular makes absolutely no sense to me. i made a bunch of phone calls today talking to people because i figured i was missing something. that's always possible. people don't have an explanation. what are they doing? we don't know. >> shannon: odd choice and location. we know the president will speak again on wednesday. he will talk about tax cuts, which was all over the sunday shows this weekend. charles, what do you make of that? talking about the tax cuts. again, how are those paid for elsewhere? >> he said they will be closing loopholes and thus enabling the other cuts. let me explain how the

democratic lexicon works. loophole is an old tax cut that outlived its political usefulness and now it's replaced with a new one which the democrats two months before an election are going to tout as an example of they're in favor of small business because it's a cut in investment of small business what is surprising to me as is it to steve to believe that this will have any effect, forget economically, but politically. you know, a new mini stimulus on infrastructure after having thrown after a trillion at it already before. closing a loophole and open up another, political effect is absurd. why they think it would be i can only explain as huge underestimation of intelligence of the citizenry. >> it might have a political impact to pick up on what

charles is saying but i don't think it will be a good one. i argue what we saw today for voters in wisconsin looking at the issues carefully is more likely to have a negative political impact in the state of wisconsin, two big races there. russ feingold re-election campaign for senator and tom barrett against scott walker in the governor's race. more likely to do damage to the two candidates because there is attention paid to who was with the president and who wasn't. there has been all of this attention paid and a distraction. the big question, size and scope of government is not one that is resolved favorably in views of most people in wisconsin. >> it's too late in some regard to help the democratic candidates who want to be in a position to say our people are proactive when it comes to ginning up the economy and creating jobs. we're on it. so you are not going to see a sudden decline in the unemployment rate to voters.

but where are the republican ideas? the republicans again are talking about tax cuts, tax cuts that are not, not stimulative in their nation and will not produce jobs. the president is up a tree and he doesn't know what to do on some levels but the idea of rebuilding america infrastructure, you could wrap a flag around it. apple pie and good stuff but everyone is so jaded the republicans won't approve of it. they see it as last-minute gesture and the voters will think you came up too short, too late. >> the democratic reflex, if you don't know what to do spend. >> i don't think it's a wasteful project, though, to build on america's infrastructure. >> shannon: we'll give juan the final word. gentleman, thank you. that's it on the economy. tell us what you think the president's main economic

program should be. go to the home page at foxnews.com/specialreport and vote in the online poll. up next, the panel will discuss labor's role ahead of the mid-term elections.

brothers and sisters, president obama and the democratic leaders share our vision of an america built on good jobs and together all of us are going to get america back to work. it won't be the bankers, it won't be the tea partiers, it won't be the party of no. it will be you, it will be all of us working together. right? [ applause ] we've got 57 days until november 2.

>> shannon: organized labor traditionally has been a force in the election. is that changing? bring in the panel again to talk about it. steve, juan, charles. juan, i'll start with you. they have been a power house. they have money, and organization and people on the ground. but are they losing steam as a force within politics? >> if you look, if you track it over the course of the end of the 20th century and of course now start t start of the 21st, they are on a steady decline. with the membership and money they invest in campaign. matter of influence, you can go back to president reagan and the air traffic controllers and the democrat he can break in. that is all on the table. if you come to the last few years of president bush, it was on deregulation not toward the union. come to the obama administration and they're more open to the union and union leaders than we have seen in years in washington.

the record of visit to white house by union leaders exceed anybody else. if you look at the marquee items. the card check for example, you don't hear the obama administration saying we'll put everything on the table. not happening. cadillac plan in the healthcare bill, not happening. going through the additional taxation despite opposition from the union. for moment it looks like the union are one hope to counter the tea party. >> juan mentioned the key things they hope to get through and with this congress and president but if they lose big this fall it's off the table. >> that's true. in small picture juan is right. but big picture the unions benefit from the expansion of government at a rate we have never seen before.

so the union are benefitting and they are arguing for the further expansion of government, even making the general principled argument on behalf of the unionized workers, arcing as a matt ore -- argues as matter of fact. political influence, no question it is on the wayne. however, if you look at what unions can do, one thing better than anybody is get people to polls. they have a system. union members are loyal and show up. you meet at the same place and get on a bus and go to same polls and have the same job. i don't think it will matter but where it might help to a certain extem is stemming the losses. >> we saw that when they tried to unseat blanche lincoln to get the lieutenant governor they considered more friendly to their causes on the ballot. she won there.

are they still reeling from that? >> it was an democratic internal fight. but in the coming election union is obama's strongest ally. juan is right that in absolute terms the influence declined dramatically over the last half century. but they are the most organized. the unions are paid hugely in the auto bail-out and the tens of becomes that obama has given to the state government to keep the teachers and the state union members in their jobs at a time when the private sector has been shedding millions of jobs, becoming much more lean and efficient.

they got their reward and enthusiastic relative to another part of the democratic constituency, the most important element obama has. that is why he is actually their man. he does what they ask him to. >> shannon: all right. gentlemen, thank you very much. that's it for panel. stay tuned. you know we're all guilty of misplacing things from time the time but find out what happens when a diamond worth tens of thousands of dollars goes missing. ♪

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it's just the way you like it-- with carbohydrates for energy and protein for muscles. [ woman announcing ] beneful incredibites. another healthful, flavorful beneful. >> shannon: finally tonight, the older we get the more we find ourselves misplacing things like keys and papers. what about a 2.5 karat diamond. you never know where something that viable may wind up. >> miami dolphin football players dropped to their knees in practice yesterday. they were looking for a teammate's 2.5 karat diamond earring. so far the big diamond has not been found. [ laughter ] >> shannon: caddie shack fans